Hello, I go by Sinstar20K or some variant of it in game. I’ve been playing since the beta (Although not seriously competitively until a few months ago). I’ve been a mono-trickster player since I started and have become rather proficient with it. Due to the lack of a trickster faq, I thought I’d start one up. I’m probably not the most qualified person in the world, but it’s a start.

About the Trickster

The Miranda has 3 red perks as you probably know; Trickster, Laser and Anchor. This guide will be covering only the first. The Miranda has even less health then the fragile loopy and a fraction of the speed and maneuverability. This means you have to stay on your toes at most times. The key to surviving with this plane is energy management. Think of your energy bar as a second health bar. If it depletes and you haven’t killed or weakened all nearby enemies, you’re as good as dead. You have various tricks to help you survive (Hence the name). Your dash and reverse are your primary tools, but there are others as well. On the offensive, you have your standard dash-combo, a charged shot with spam, a well aimed sniper shot, and a flurry of dashes. As powerful as the combo is, your energy will be completely depletes afterwards. (Unless you’re using Ultracap) Useful in close quarters against a single target, but outlives its usefulness very quickly in competitive, fast paced games or against groups. If you like greasing up your chest and fighting many enemies, the trickster likely isn’t for you.

Obviously we’re going to use the Trickster as our red perk. Now depending on your play style, the other perks will change. Trickster players usually play 1 of 3 ways; Dash Combo Spam, Sniper, or Bomber. I’ve included a few sample builds to play with to accommodate most play styles.

Competitive setups

The Cookie CutterTrickster
Repair
Ultracap

The most common build. Usually played because it can fill almost any role. A favorite of dash-spammers and bombers alike. When people refer to the trickster being easy, they’re usually referring to this build. Easy to learn, difficult to master.

Neo Cookie CutterTrickster
Heavy Armor
Ultracap/Turbo

Metagame evolution is a fascinating thing, eh? This is the new build that almost all of the top tricksters use. It's versatile and very powerful. The heavy armor lets you run bombs more effectively and makes it harder to be combo'd by other Mirandas. There's really not much else to say about it because of it's widespread use. It's more difficult to play then a repair variant, but more effective when mastered.

The SniperTrickster
Repair
Turbocharger

Because you have less overall energy, you cannot pull off all of the stunts you could with the Cookie Cutter. You need to keep your distance as you cannot be in combat long with this setup. While this setup is seeing less play, (Due to being slightly harder to play then the cookie cutter and being less versatile) it is still incredibly viable for league play and is one of my personal favorites. While playing this plane, I recommend taking as much cover as you can. If you see an enemy coming around a corner, you probably won’t have the energy to engage them like with the Cookie Cutter, so back off unless you’re confident you can take them.

The AceTrickster
Heavy Armor/Repair Drone
Ace Instincts

This setup is an absolute monster when it gets going. The buff on Ace instincts lets this setup shine as (in my opinion), the strongest Miranda setup out there. Heavy Armor lets you reliably kill any plane 1 on 1, while repair lets you stay in the action longer. After getting 3 golds, your teams chances of winning skyrocket because this plane alone can control large portions of a map. This setup is also the most difficult to play because you don't have the extra energy provided by turbo or ultracap and you have to stay alive a long time to be effective. In my experience, this is the most difficult Trickster setup, but also most rewarding one in the game.

Non-Anchor BomberTrickster
Flexi/Heavy
Ultracap

This setup regulates the Miranda to a bomber only role. I’ve had limited success with this setup, but believe that it’s viable if practiced enough. The flexible wings are very nice, but the Miranda lacks the durability of a biplane and doesn’t have the Time Anchor as a panic button. If you can avoid enemy fire, then by all means do so. However, Heavy Armor is also a good choice to try to emulate the Biplane’s durability. This runner is likely outclassed by a decent Anchor, but is viable for people who want to stay on a strict runner role while keeping their reverse.

These setups won’t see a ton of league play if any, but have their place.

Anti-WhaleTrickster
Rubber Hull
Ultra Cap

Alright, you probably saw the rubber hull and thought “What kind of crack is he smoking?” This setup is rather unorthodox to say the least, but it can reliably kill off most whales. Also, this is the best way to abuse the wall-hop trick (Covered later) on hardwall servers.

Bad name aside, this is the same concept as the sniplane, only with a Miranda. This can work, but does have a fundamental flaw. HC can fire 2 shots rather quickly, but the trickster cannot really follow-up easily if you’re thrusting away from them aside peppering them with spam. There really isn’t much to say here that hasn’t been said in Beagle’s guide. The reason this isn’t under the competitive section is that is far outclassed by the actual sniplane.

Maps

Expecting me to tell you how to play each map? The Miranda needs to be a flexible plane and cannot have a set pattern. Besides, you’ll find your niche on each map eventually on your own. The general rule of thumb is to stay near cover, and with your teammates. However don’t stay too close to your team or you’ll end up taking spam that was meant for them. While sniping, try to find a spot where you can see the high traffic areas but don‘t expose yourself. Don’t stay too close to walls against a whale heavy team obviously.

Modes

TBD:

This is the most commonly played mode in tournaments, and so you must be able to play it well to get accepted onto a team. In public servers, you should be able to control the middle effortlessly against a lot of the inexperienced players (And rack up a nice ratio while you’re at it). In games with league quality players, things get a little more complicated. You’ll usually want to have a friendly Explodet draw out the enemy while you set up sniper shots. Drop Shotting (Covered later) is particularly effective in 5v5 since you have less risk of being picked off as you recover from it. If you’re trying to run the bomb, I honestly can’t teach you much, and you probably should refer to Mikesol’s FAQ.

Plane Ball

After the old selfpass got beaten senseless with the nerfbat, the Trickster's role in ball has shifted a lot. Time Anchor Randas are far better at moving the ball then you are and biplanes are better at giving covering fire with their mighty HCs. So where does this leave you? You're a fusion of these two planes. Do what you can to flank around enemy lines and grab the ball when the opportunity arises. Do not get hasty pushing the ball because you are fragile and don't have a TA warp to bail you out. Where the Trickster falls on the scale of Time Anchor vs HC playstyles is really dependent on the player. Some rush in and score while others hang back and shoot the enemy team. I personally gear towards firing on the enemy more then pursuing the ball, because I feel the map control is more important most of the time. If you choose to pursue the ball, do your best not to completely forsake shooting because you will end up hurting your team if you're not helping push forward when it's needed.

1 Life Modes

I figured I’d list 1DM and 1BD under the same section since they play very similar. Staying with your team is mandatory if you want to survive. Avoid open areas at all costs since the slightest misplay will kill you. Avoid using energy when not needed since you likely won’t have anywhere to go hide. Take your time with your enemies. Try to control the health pickups if your enemies don’t have Repair Drone and pick them off one by one.

Free for All

I’m not going to lie; against players of similar skill, you’re going to die A LOT. This mode is tough because there is no “safe” spots to get your bearings and snipe some people. While kill stealing snipes are fun, this will make 2 people come after you and you’ll likely get flanked and die. Very difficult for novice Mirandas, but you can persevere if you try hard. Just don’t expect an amazing ratio while doing so.

There are typically 2 types of loopies. Acid and Double Fire. Try to take them from the side so you don’t get EMP’d or Acid-ed. If you must take them head on, then you need to get behind them and follow up very quickly or you will die. Trying to run from an EMP Loopy will usually prove to be futile. Acid loopies are also very good at ending your killing spree, so be careful. Acid+2 Missiles is all it takes to bring you down if you cannot find health. Try to engage them around corners (Or close combat in general) so you’re less likely to get hit with their secondary weapon. Against heavy armor builds, don’t try to hit and run as this will likely get you killed when you approach. They also move too quickly to reliably snipe them from extreme distances. (Possible, but don’t rely on it) Despite all of this, the loopy is one of the easiest matchups because of how vulnerable they are to the dash combo.

Difficulty: 3/10
Bomber

Most bombers are all about waiting for the right time to strike. You need to catch them in a place where you aren’t behind or in front of them, or you’ll die painfully. If that isn’t possible, try to stay under their nose so their volley doesn’t hit you. Trying to fly over a bomber is usually a one-way ticket back to the respawn point due to how easily they can pivot upwards and kill you. Going under is usually safest. If you manage to bait their salvo, then you have maybe 2 seconds to kill them before you’re back on the defensive. Tricky matchup, tedious matchup, but not exactly a hard matchup.

Difficulty: 6/10

Explodet

You know how if a Miranda misses it’s first shot, it usually dies? This plane excels at doing just that. It likes to throw you all over, twist you into walls, and generally be an asshole with mines. Although this is contrary to everything I’ve been telling you so far, you want to stay out in the open against this monster. That way you won’t go flying into a wall with one missile and can get away if needed. Despite the missiles tossing power, they also do a fair amount of damage (About half your health without bars). Sniping is the key to taking these guys down. If that’s not possible for whatever reason, you could try to have a teammate distract them while you try to Warp Combo them and pray you don’t get a mine to the face. This matchup is hard, I’m not going to lie. Hard enough that I made a build just to stop these guys in the plane section. UPDATE: Most whales use Flexy Wings now. This means you can wear them down over time, making the fight much easier.

Difficulty: 8/10

Biplane

The most favored plane by many players. This thing is either really easy or really hard depending on your positioning skills. In a head-to-head shootout, you’ll lose every time, so you need to flank around them. Confronting them at corners is the WORST thing that you can do. Seriously, that’s a free kill for them; don’t do it. Beyond getting behind them, the rest of the strategy depends on their build. If you’re facing a Dogfighter/Recoilless, try to get a snipe off to draw their attention, then dash behind them as they draw near. Quickly finish them off before they can turn around. Against HC, your strategy depends on their blue perk. If they aren’t playing Sniplane, then you just have to avoid the front end and they’re pretty helpless, much like the Dogfighter/Recoilless. Against a Sniplane, if you’re not close when they engage you, it’s best just to try to get away. You’ll usually lose a 1v1 sniper duel against it. If you can get close, then try to get behind them. This leaves them with a few choices. They can either thrust backwards and try to take another shot at you or they can try to use their thrust to get away. If they choose to run, cautiously give chase. This plane is good at setting up ambushes. If they choose to continue the engagement, do your best to stay behind them until you either kill them or force them to run away. UPDATE: With the buff to Heavy Cannon, any biplane packing HC should be avoided unless you have an advantage. In a fair fight against a good HC, you will lose EVERY time. If you can survive to get 2 Silver Bars, you can Combo them and they become slightly easier, but that cannon will still hurt like hell.

Difficulty: 5/10
Difficulty: 10/10 (Heavy Cannon)

Miranda

So you’re trying to kill fellow Mirandas? Why would you go and do that?!? Anyway, this fight is very difficult to explain. Lets start with laser as it is the easiest. The key to beating laser, much like a Sniplane, is to stay behind it. Sure it can reverse, but you’re anticipating that right? Right?! As long as you can outlast the initial laser, you should be able to survive. Be warned, the laser+dash is every bit as deadly as your shot+dash. Next up, fellow tricksters. This fight is all about out maneuvering them. In the best case, you can play mind games with them before killing them, while in the worst case you both combo each other. The trick to winning the combo duel is to use it at the maximum effective range of your dash. Most players aren’t able to gauge this correctly so it catches them off guard. Last up, the Time Anchor. While this matchup is annoying as hell, you need to fake them out into thinking you’re going to use your combo. Once they warp, they’re vulnerable for half a second before their anchor extends. This is easier said then done, but it really comes down to practice. All in all, the mirror match may seem like the hardest initially, but it gets easier the longer you play the game.

Difficulty: 6/10
Difficulty: 8/10 (Anchor)

Lag and You

Ah, the dreaded lag. This section is just to give you a primer on what lag will do to your matchups. Lag can be an advantage in small doses, but once it hit’s the 250 point, it’s pretty much a kill for a kill.

Loopy: Getting EMP’d through walls is a pain in the ass. No seriously, there is not much that’s this annoying in a lot of games. There is no running from a laggy loopy, just killing it a few seconds before it kills you.
Bomber: You’re going to die plain and simple. It’s almost impossible to keep yourself out of their firing line on their screen. The best you can do is take them with you.
Explodet: Basically the same matchup as normal only harder. You’ll randomly be flung around by things you didn’t see. Very winnable, but difficult.

Biplane: A heavy cannon with 150 or so Ping is nightmarish. There is no escaping it at all. Beyond that it may as well be a double knockout most of the time. Like the Explodet, tough but beatable.

Miranda: Hoo boy. I spent quite some time as one of these, so I have a unique stance on this. Basically, if you get into a Combo-duel, it’s a double knockout OR it will end in their favor. So yeah, avoid these when possible. Sniping them is effective usually, but then you hear them complain about their own lag

Wall Hopping
When you reverse JUST as you hit a wall, you’ll spring away from the wall like you got hit with a missile. There are several applications for this like when you’re bomb running or need to get away. You can practice this on bouncy servers until you feel confident doing this in regular servers. I’m pretty sure this is a physics glitch, but it’s useful nonetheless.

Missile Hopping
Basically Wall Hopping, just done by detonating a Missile Power Up on a plane or wall beneath you. This can be tricky to actually put into practical use, but is good for hitting an enemy, then launching away.

Drop Sniping
This is both fun and practical. Hold back (Or get hit with a missile, doesn’t matter) until you go into a stall. Just before you actually start falling, take your shot. It’s much easier to hit people doing this then normal. Also, you’ve probably fallen from where you were by the time they return fire and are safely out of the way.

Canceling
Sadly I don’t see this one getting as much use as it should. It’s very useful. When you’re performing a dash, in the middle of the dash animation, you can reverse. The benefits of this are so that you can use your combo close to walls (Duh) and fake out other players. The biggest bonus is that your hitbox for dealing damage seems to extend the full distance even though you don’t. You can tell if you’re doing it right when you dash combo someone without your Randa actually touching them. I’m pretty sure this is a glitch, but a very cool and useful one nonetheless. Very few players will be able to master this, but it helps A LOT in Randa vs. Randa matchups.

Reverse Missile
The reverse missile is preformed by pressing the missile button as you reverse. This causes the missile to fly backwards out from you and move in on the target you were engaging. While this trick has some useful applications, if you're too close to the target or already have killed the target, the missile will hit you instead. This is great if you know you're about to die and want one last stab at the enemy.

Closing Statements and Shout outs

So there’s more to the Miranda then meets the eye. My goal while writing this guide was to educate the newbies while also teaching the pros new things as well. PM me any feedback on the Altitude Forums or post it in the thread there.
Shout outs: Thanks to the following people for helping me test some theories and write this guide. In no particular order:

Don't encourage people to play the gay plane, on a serious note I'm gonna check it out
A nicely written guide, covers all the basics and the advanced techniques should help out miranda wannabe's
Also trick vs trick is a double KO mostly if you're playing people as good as yourself

Just read it and it looks great! Just a couple of things I can think of adding at the moment:

- Miranda seems to be the most powerful plane in 1DM (and probably other 1-life modes though I hardly ever play them). If you use it right and take your time, you should have no trouble with pretty much any 1v1 plane matchup. The one life section might be able to use just another sentence or so describing the randa's effectiveness in this mode.

- Another advanced technique: the reverse missile shot. If you have a missile and click both s and d at the same time (so that you shoot it and reverse at once), then the missile will go initially in the direction you were heading but is actually facing the direction you reversed into. After about a second, the missile will stop going the direction you had started in and go back to the direction you reversed into. This technique doesn't get used that much but is especially helpful in 1DM, as you can easily hit someone with a missile when you are running away or when they are least expecting it. This trick doesn't seem to be well known, but is definitely one of the more advanced randa techniques.

Sorry if I didn't explain #2 clearly enough, hope that made sense! Overall a great guide, and I'm looking forward to the polished (perhaps with pictures?) version.

- Another advanced technique: the reverse missile shot. If you have a missile and click both s and d at the same time (so that you shoot it and reverse at once), then the missile will go initially in the direction you were heading but is actually facing the direction you reversed into. After about a second, the missile will stop going the direction you had started in and go back to the direction you reversed into. This technique doesn't get used that much but is especially helpful in 1DM, as you can easily hit someone with a missile when you are running away or when they are least expecting it. This trick doesn't seem to be well known, but is definitely one of the more advanced randa techniques.

Just read it and it looks great! Just a couple of things I can think of adding at the moment:

- Miranda seems to be the most powerful plane in 1DM (and probably other 1-life modes though I hardly ever play them). If you use it right and take your time, you should have no trouble with pretty much any 1v1 plane matchup. The one life section might be able to use just another sentence or so describing the randa's effectiveness in this mode.

- Another advanced technique: the reverse missile shot. If you have a missile and click both s and d at the same time (so that you shoot it and reverse at once), then the missile will go initially in the direction you were heading but is actually facing the direction you reversed into. After about a second, the missile will stop going the direction you had started in and go back to the direction you reversed into. This technique doesn't get used that much but is especially helpful in 1DM, as you can easily hit someone with a missile when you are running away or when they are least expecting it. This trick doesn't seem to be well known, but is definitely one of the more advanced randa techniques.

Sorry if I didn't explain #2 clearly enough, hope that made sense! Overall a great guide, and I'm looking forward to the polished (perhaps with pictures?) version.

A couple of things. I've found the miranda to be very effective in 1DM, but due to the size of 1DM maps (Like clocktower), the explodet is still pretty dangerous.

I almost added the reverse missile
Also, while the reverse missile can be useful, you put yourself in harm's way for several seconds before it actually pays off. By this time you'll have either killed them or gotten killed. It may be added for the sake of completion though.

A couple of things. I've found the miranda to be very effective in 1DM, but due to the size of 1DM maps (Like clocktower), I dins the explodet is still pretty dangerous.

I almost added the reverse missile
Also, while the reverse missile can be useful, you put yourself in harm's way for several seconds before it actually pays off. By this time you'll have either killed them or gotten killed. It may be added for the sake of completion though.

There are reverse missile strats that don't put you in harms way.
A good one is if you have a bomber coming at you in a tight space you really don't want to go heads up there so use rev missile and warp through him, finish off. As long as you have a good warp left you're safe from missiling yourself 0-o
etc

As you said, even if the missile trick isn't that useful it would be good to include it in the guide because the trickster and laser are the only plane setups that can do it. Beginners who come here to read the guide probably won't know it even exists (due to its lack of use), and this guide should inform them of the lesser know trickster "tricks" and strategies.

Also, you may want to include as one of the advantages of Ultra over other blue perks that it allows the trickster to do two warps in rapid succession, which is a great help in getting away from fights going badly or if timed right can deal a huge amount of damage to the enemy. I think it may be able to one-shot loopies with the double warp, but if not it at least deals a significant amount of damage.

With these additions and some pretty randa pictures, this has the potential to be a great guide. Well done.

As you said, even if the missile trick isn't that useful it would be good to include it in the guide because the trickster and laser are the only plane setups that can do it. Beginners who come here to read the guide probably won't know it even exists (due to its lack of use), and this guide should inform them of the lesser know trickster "tricks" and strategies.

Also, you may want to include as one of the advantages of Ultra over other blue perks that it allows the trickster to do two warps in rapid succession, which is a great help in getting away from fights going badly or if timed right can deal a huge amount of damage to the enemy. I think it may be able to one-shot loopies with the double warp, but if not it at least deals a significant amount of damage.

With these additions and some pretty randa pictures, this has the potential to be a great guide. Well done.

The turbocharger allows for similarly spaced warps. You drop just under the range needed to dash and then quickly charge the rest of it.

The turbocharger allows for similarly spaced warps. You drop just under the range needed to dash and then quickly charge the rest of it.

Right, but I was thinking more along the lines of being able to warp directly on top of a loopy or other plane and then warp again so that the plane gets dealt the damage from both warps. Does Turbo have a short enough recharging time that it allows you to do this?